A Few Simple Tips To A Safer Smart Home During The Holidays

Harold Stark
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August Smart Lock

Smart Home Security Systems

It’s not just a gimmick. Hooking up your house to the internet of things can actually help you save energy, increase productivity and foster convenience. But if there’s one thing my readers know, it’s that despite all its virtues, your smart home is just one massive security nightmare waiting to unleash. While an ordinary home can only be broken into via brute force, the safe space created by a smart home can be violated quite easily by everyone from an internet service provider who wants to sell your private data to advertisers to some rogue hacker exploiting a serious vulnerability in your outdated security systems. Intruders can tell if you’re awake or asleep, gain access to your consumption habits and even spy on you using your webcam. Expert hackers can even remotely disable your security systems to come in as they please. You can, however, with some extra reading and a little bit of good advice, turn your waiting target of a house into an impenetrable fortress. Here’s how.

Shopping for gadgets for your new smart home can be an overwhelming task, what with all the different options available in the market. There’s a lot of cool stuff that will make your eyes water, but remember only to acquire the gadgets you actually need. Security needs to come first and every new gadget is just another vulnerable access point waiting to be discovered. The Samsung SmartThings Hub is a great way to keep your entire home organized and connected. As far as intelligent speakers are concerned, Google Home and Amazon Echo are both great options. For temperature regulation, I recommend buying a Nest Learning Thermostat, since you can never go wrong with that one. The Philip Hue is a good choice when it comes to smart lighting. iDevices and TP Link offer some good options when it comes to smart switches and plugs. For the purpose of simplicity, I recommend putting these first on your to-buy list, anything else should be bought on an as-needed basis only, since more gadgets only add to the complicated nature of your smart home. For further details, check out my beginner's guide to building your own smart home.

“With time, consumers and manufacturers are growing increasingly aware of the potential threats posed by IOT devices. Thankfully for us, the proliferation of blockchain-based applications is ushering in a new era of decentralized, secure devices. As a company that offers services pertaining to the complete framework for the acceleration of IoT ventures, this encourages us to come up with more and more ways to improve security while keeping user experience intact.” - Harald Zapp, Founder and CEO of Next Big Thing

Limiting the number of access points isn’t enough, though. You will also need to install a bunch of gadgets specifically for the purpose of security in your smart home. The first thing you need to do is secure all of the different inlets into your home. The August Smart Lock Pro is an excellent device that will not only do a wonderful job of keeping trespassers at bay but also monitor your home and send you regular email updates as to who is entering and who is leaving. Speaking of smart locks, the Kwikset Kevo is yet another intelligent option. The Skybell HD Wi-Fi Video Doorbell will serve as a good companion to your smart lock, analyzing anyone who comes near your door and sending you push notifications whenever someone tries to enter.

There’s a good deal of debate when it comes to whether or not you should install security cameras in your home. While they may serve as a nifty surveillance addition, they can also make it possible for someone to remotely access your smart home servers and spy into your rooms as you sleep. Still, the general consensus is that you should install security cameras in every room and along the main access points in your house, although you will need to make sure you choose the right one and update your systems regularly to keep hackers at bay. The Netgear Arlo Q has a 360-degree field of view and a resolution of 1080p, so that might be something you should consider.

Unwanted trespassers aren’t the only thing threatening your home. Sometimes, a faulty stove or a malfunctioning heater can be just as deadly. That is why it’s a must-have for all smart home owners to install fire and smoke detectors throughout your home. The Nest Protect is what most of my colleagues recommend thanks to its nice interconnectivity feature and a sufficiently lower number of false alerts than post competitors. It is pretty costly though.

“Smart home systems can leave owners vulnerable to serious threats, such as arson, blackmail, theft and extortion. Current security research has focused on individual devices, and how they communicate with each other. For example, the MyQ garage system can be turned into a surveillance tool, alerting would-be thieves when a garage door opened and then closed, and allowing them to remotely open it again after the residents had left. The popular ZigBee communication protocol can allow attackers to join the secure home network.” - Earlence Fernandes, PhD Student at the University of Michigan

Apart from all these different gadgets, you might also consider investing in an all-in-one security system. These systems connect with the different security devices in your home, using them in tandem to achieve the perfect security nirvana. Angee, a new smart home security system that will be unveiled at CES 2018 and claims to be completely autonomous, is one of the first ones I’d look into. With motion sensing, voice recognition and full perimeter security features, Angee has already tripped quite a few alarms in the industry. The product isn’t on the market just yet, but there is a waiting list should you want to pre-order. Other great security systems worth recommending include Canary, Pipe and iSmartAlarm, all of which boast an independent set of unique features depending on the type of your home and your immediate requirements.

It’s important for consumers to stay vigilant and informed. As the connected security device market broadens, new products will emerge that simply aren’t up to standards. In the case of connected home security devices, all products are not created equal. When buying a new device, we must always make sure that it comes from a trusted manufacturer and received regular updates and proper support. We must always remember, an unprotected device is a free invitation to hackers.

There’s a new burglary happening every fifteen seconds in our country alone. Of this, 63% of the break-ins happen in broad daylight, from 6 AM to 6 PM. As crime rates double and burglars grow bolder, more and more homes are being broken into each day. And it’s not just them you need to be afraid of. From hackers phishing for information to greedy internet providers spying on your habits, a smart home experiences threats from all sides. If you care about the security of you and your family, now is the time to act.

Harold Stark covers the intersection of all things lifestyle and technology for Forbes Magazine. Follow him on Twitter!